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This film has received many bad reviews, but not because it's a bad movie. The truth is it's just not what people expected it to be. When you hear about a mafia movie, you expect an epic, inside look like with Goodfellas or Casino, but Gangster Squad is from the cops point of view and more like The Untouchables. Gangster Squad is based on a novel and is about an off the books LAPD operation aimed at bringing down Micky Cohen. In the 1940s, LA had a growing mafia problem on it's hands, and Mickey Cohen was set to become the next Al Capone. Unbeknownst for decades, the LAPD sent a group of cops, who didn't play by the book, after Cohen and by going after his business interests, they attempt to destroy his growing empire. The story is a great one, well deserving of a film adaptation, but what people didn't like was how it turned into an action film. This story has all the makings of an epic mafia drama, an you will be hard pressed to find a better performance than the one Sean Penn gives as Mickey Cohen. It was somewhat disappointing that they didn't get more into Cohen and his operation, but for what it was, it was a great film. As for the cast, it features some of Hollywood's best an brightest as old school meets the up and coming stars of the big screen. Every one from the stars to the ancillary characters give Oscar worthy performances that will be sadly overlooked. because of the nature of the film. If you're looking for a classic mob drama, you're going to be disappointed, but if you want to see an action packed cop movie with a mob element, then Gangster Squad is the film for you.

"Gangster Squad" is an old-fashioned crime-fighting thriller set in the L.A. of the late 1940's, complete with period sets, a solid cast, and a suspenseful story. It claims to be based on a true story, but the average viewer probably won't worry about the history. The average viewer will be too busy wondering just how vicious the fight between two-fisted mobster Mickey Cohen and a group of vigilante cops is going to get, and who might get hurt in the process.

As the story opens, Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is staking out his criminal turf, while most of the police force has been paid to look the other way. The police chief (a grizzled Nick Nolte) taps honest police sergeant John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) to set up an off-the-books gangster squad. With the help of his wife, O'Mara picks five other police officers prepared to take on Cohen and his mob. Among them is Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), O'Mara's army buddy, who also happens to have a very dangerous thing going with Cohen's moll (Emma Stone). The gangster squad gets to work, and Mickey Cohen soon becomes aware that his operation is being dismantled right under his nose. Cohen will come after the gangster squad, and their friends and families, setting up a big finale at an L.A. hotel.

The pacing of the movie is perhaps a little uneven, but its best moments make up for it. The gunfights are pretty exciting, and the movie makes the good guys worry about the collateral damage. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are quite good together, as in a different way are Josh Brolin and Mireille Enos, who plays his wife. The movie has an old-fashioned ending, but that is the point. Recommended.

This is a fictionalized version of the story of LA gangster Mickey Cohen, excellently portrayed by Sean Penn who looks nothing like him. The action takes place in 1949/1950 and is not shot in black and white. Combat veteran Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is asked to form a squad of elite men to take down Mickey Cohen, but not as cops, but as a gangsters hitting his places one by one.

John has a pregnant wife (Mireille Enos) who would rather leave town than have her husband take on the mobster. Saddled with the fact it won't happen, she helps her husband assemble a squad which includes Jerry (Ryan Gosling) a playboy cop who is seeing Mickey's girlfriend (Emma Stone). Emma Stone has played too many down to earth women to pull off a swanky mobster girl. She looked like a kid who was playing in her mommy's make-up box. Perhaps that was the genius of the film as she was to suppose to be a small town girl out of place.

Jerry uses a pick up line from 1941 comedy "Hold That Ghost" when he talks about playing post office. Again, was this bad writing or would have someone used a line from a film? At times the characters acted like they came out of "Sin City," stereotypes of themselves. Where do they get all these new Packards to shoot up?

The film had some good lines such as Sean Penn: "All good things must one day be burnt to the ground for insurance money." There is enough humor in the film to keep it from becoming dry.

Now the bad news is that Mickey Cohen was actually brought down by the IRS and not the gangster squad. His girlfriend Liz (not Grace)did three years because she wouldn't testify against him. So as far as facts go, rate this well below an Oliver Stone film. I liked the film, but not because there was any truth to it.

Given the acting talent, I was pretty pumped up to see this film in the build up to its release, but generally mediocre reviews kept me away from the theatre. After getting around to seeing it now, I agree with the prevailing view that the movie is a decent piece of popcorn entertainment but that it seems content to settle for well-worn tropes and ultimately offers virtually nothing to distinguish it from a trough of other gangster films. The plot is a formulaic 'malevolent gangster versus vigilante cops' and the dialogue is a second-rate Hammett that at times is cringe-inducing. What makes it a worthwhile viewing experience in spite of those deficiencies are the frequent and well-executed action sequences, which, if a bit silly and over-the-top at times, are really fun to watch. Also, the film develops a solid atmosphere through well-executed sets, music, and wardrobe.

Most of the characters are fairly one-dimensional, which does not give the actors much room for nuance. Out of the leads, Sean Penn puts in the stand-out performance as mobster Mickey Cohen. He seems to relish playing a truly diabolical dude. Josh Brolin does pretty well as the simmering, itchy trigger fingered good guy, but I think Russell Crowe put in a more complex and interesting performance with a similar role in 'LA Confidential'. With little room for exploration given the source material, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone seem content to phone in their respective roles as suave, carefree partner and femme fatale.

Overall, if you're like me and you find it intrinsically enjoyable to watch gangsters fire tommy guns at one another, you won't regret putting in the two hours to watch this movie.